Can Mom's of 5-6 Month Old Babies Post Their Infant's Feeding Schedules?

Updated on March 25, 2010
Y.A. asks from Garden Grove, CA
8 answers

So I'm having a lot of trouble figuring out how much and how often I should be feeding Nataly. She is 5 1/2 months old and has been on solids (cereal, and just started veggies/fruit) since she was 4 months old. This is the current schedule we are on right now:

6am-7am wake up
7:30am 6 ounce bottle
8:30am 1/2 jar stage 1 fruit & 1 tablespoon oatmeal
9am-10:30am nap
11:30am 1/2 jar stage 1 veggies & 1 tablespoon rice cereal
12pm 6 ounce bottle

130pm-3pm nap
330pm 8 ounce bottle
630pm dinner 3 tablespoons oatmeal
7pm 6 ounce bottle
and she's usually asleep by 7:30pm-8pm

Am i feeding her too much solids? She also spits up a lot, but she has always spit up since she was born. can you moms post your daily schedules of your infants? thank you so much

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T.A.

answers from Los Angeles on

Babies get most of their nutrition from breast milk or formula for the first year of their life. Anything under a year, food is more of a novelty.
Personally I believe this is too young for "solids." With grains in particular, babies are unable to digest them properly till 7-8 months old.

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V.G.

answers from Portland on

Babies shouldn't start eating solids until they are AT LEAST 6 months old. This is because their stomachs don't have the right bile yet to fully digest solid food.
Your baby is still so young, I would just feed them breastmilk or formula- whichever you are choosing to do.
Feed her by how much she wants. If she's eating more than usual its because her body needs it and she's probably in the middle of a growth spurt. Remember: babies don't eat just to eat. They only want to eat when they are hungry.
Stop with the solids, it's not helping her one bit. She gets all the nutrition she needs from her bottle.

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J.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

My pediatrician didn't start solids til six months. I know some do start them early, but I have heard the same about waiting because of their digestive systems. My sons still got constipated starting at six months. But as long as your baby is happy&healthy...thats all that matters.

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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

That's a lot of solids.

For the 1st year of life, breastmilk/Formula is the PRIMARY source of nutrition in a baby, NOT solids, NOT other liquids.

For the 1st year, solids is ONLY an introduction to foods... NOT their main course, and they do not eat like adults. Portions is only in terms of teaspoons. And, over several months to a year... THEN you gradually work up to 3 'meals' of solids.

For me with both my kids, I nursed on demand.... and always before solids. Before any naps, after any naps, and in between naps and solids and before bed, and during the night. 24/7.
Solids... was NOT the main thing.

You should give the bottle before solids.... if giving a bottle AFTER solids... this is a technique to "Wean" a baby off of nursing or bottles.

All the best,
Susan

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A.N.

answers from Las Vegas on

I would say that is a lot of solids. As some others suggested, you really are supposed to wait to start solids until 6 months. Even then, your baby will still need to get most of her nutrition from breast milk or formula. My son wasn't eating that much food a day until probably 9 or 10 months. Food is for playing with at the 6 month to 1 year stage, breast milk or formula is where their nutrition comes from, I would do less solids and a bit more formula. If your baby is gaining fine, then you might not really need extra formula, but if a baby needs 24 to 32 ounces a day as Tricia said, yours could probably use a bit more (as long as you do cut down on the solid food).

One other thing about the spitting up, you might try giving her less in a bottle at a time, more bottles a day, but less in each. I breastfed probably 6 times a day when my son was that age, and he very rarely spit up (he did spit up a lot when on formula for a month at 1 month old, I think he was getting too much in each feeding). Just a thought.

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T.S.

answers from Phoenix on

As far as bottle goes a baby needs 24 to 32 ounces a day their entire first year. Even as solid foods are added into their diet. If you think about it they start off eating 2 oz about every 2 hours, that equals 24 oz in 24 hours. Then they go up to about 3 or 4 oz every 3 or 4 hours that equals 24 to 32 oz, then 6 to 7 oz every 6 or 7 hours same ammount and so on. So as long as the baby is getting that ammount of formula/breast milk you are doing great! Spitting up is common for all babies. If it is excessive and accompinied by crying, you may want to mention it to the Dr. so they can check for GERD. I am a mother of 4. My oldest girl is 8, my oldest son is 6, my little girl is also 6 (no they are not twins, we got our son at 19 days old while we were prego. with our daughter, they are 5 months 3 weeks apart in age; we fostered and were lucky enough to get to adopt him.) and our little man is 2 (also adopted). I had all of them on a very similar schedual to yours. Your doing great! Keep up the good work Momma!!

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D.S.

answers from New York on

I have 8 infants at my childcare center and they all are pretty much around the same age as your child. They are on or very close to your child's schedule. As long as she is growing, happy, and sleeping well then all sounds good to me. As far as the spiting up, I do have a child who had such bad reflux he had to have cereal put into each bottle to be able to hold down his formula. If the spitting up is within normal range then I would not worry. I am very old school and fed my kids at 3 months old and still do not buy into the whole wait till they are 6 months old to feed solids. I do respect the wishes of the parents of the children in our care, even as difficult as it may be. All babies are different and their needs are different. I will tell you after years of caring for babies with these new guidelines on feeding I see more and more children with feeding issues. Gagging, choking, refusing food etc. I think my kids were on table food by 8 months old. Times have surely changed. I think you just need to use good old common sense and go with your own babies ques. It sounds to me like you are doing a great job.

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A.M.

answers from Las Vegas on

Hi Y. - I'm a mom and a grandma. I have a state licensed child care facility and one of my kids is a 6 month old boy. Most kids will turn away when they've had enough. But I think she may be spitting up because her bottle time and solids time are too close together. All of my babies have done very well with a bottle first thing in the morning and then alternating solids with the bottle every 1 1/2 to 2 hours. No more spitting up.

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